SOURCE
Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall
Birth: 9 Jun 1744 Graz, Graz Stadt, Styria (Steiermark), Austria
Death: 23 Nov 1856 (aged 112) Vienna (Wien), Austria
Burial :Klosterneuburg-Weidling
Weidling, Sankt Pölten-Land Bezirk, Lower Austria (Niederösterreich), Austria
Born Joseph Hammer in Graz, Styria, he received his early education mainly in Vienna. Entering the diplomatic service in 1796, he was appointed in 1799 to a position in the Austrian embassy in Constantinople, and in this capacity he took part in the expedition under Admiral William Sidney Smith and General John Hely-Hutchinson against France. In 1807 he returned home from the East, after which he was made a privy councillor. In 1835, upon inheriting the estates of the Countess Purgstall, he acquired the title Freiherr.For fifty years Hammer-Purgstall wrote prolifically on the most diverse subjects and published numerous texts and translations of Arabic, Persian and Turkish authors. By traversing so large a field, he lay himself open to the criticism of specialists, and he was severely handled by Friedrich Christian Diez (1794–1876), who, in his Unfug und Betrug (1815), devoted to him nearly 600 pages of abuse. He also came into friendly conflict on the subject of the origin of The Thousand and One Nights with his younger English contemporary Edward William Lane.
Hammer-Purgstall's principal work is his Geschichte des osmanischen Reiches (10 vols., 1827–1835). Among his other works are *"Ancient Alphabets & Hieroglyphic Characters Explained,
" (1806)(Bio by: Wikipedia)
His knowledge of Oriental languages was extensive but not thorough. This detracts seriously from the value of his work; his text editions are unreliable and his translations often inaccurate. Much of his work is today antiquated. But his wide range of studies enabled him to make valuable contributions to the field of Oriental history, while his translations have exerted a noteworthy influence, especially on German literature. His version of the Persian poems of Hafiz inspired Goethe's "Westöstliche Divan" (1815-1819); Rückert and Platen were also indebted to him.
His chief historical works are: "Die Staatsverfassung und Staatsverwaltung des osmanischen Reichs" (Vienna, 1814, 2 vols.); "Geschichte der Assassinen" (Stuttgart and Tübingen, 1818); "Geschichte des osmanischen Reichs" (Pest, 1827-35, 10 vols.); "Gemaldesaal der Lebensbeschreibungen grosser moslimischer Herrscher" (Darmstadt, 1837-39, 6 vols); "Geschichte der Goldenen Horde in Kiptschalk" (Pest, 1840); "Geschichte der Ilchane" (Darmstadt,1843, 2 vols.); and "Geschichte der Chane der Krim" (Vienna, 1856). His translations are numerous. From the Arabic he translated the poems of Mutanabbi (Vienna, 1824), and the "Atwak al-dhahab" of Zamahsharl under the title "Samachscharis Goldene Halsbander" (Vienna, 1835). From the Persian he translated the entire "Divan" of Hafiz (Stuttgart and Tübingen, 1812-13). Unfortunately this rendering is in German prose and does scant justice to the original but it was the first time the poems of Persia's greatest lyrist were made known to Europe in their entirety. He also published the Persian text with a German version of Mahmud Shabistarl's famous Sufi poem "Gulshan-i-raz" under the title of "Mahmud Schabisteris Rosenflor des Geheimnisses" (Pest, 1838), and a part of the "Ta'rikh-i-Wassaf", under the title "Geschichte Wassafs" (Vienna, 1856). From the Turkish he made a translation of the "Divan" of Baki (Vienna, 1825), of Fazli's romantic poem "Gul u Bulbul", i.e. "Rose and Nightingale" (Pest, 1834), and of the "Baznamah", a treatise on falconry, which he published with two other treatises on the same subject, one Greek and one German, under the title "Falknerklee" (Vienna, 1840).
Hammer's contributions to literary history were very important. Together with Count Reviczky he founded the "Fundgruben des Orients" (Vienna, 1809-19, 6 vols.), a periodical devoted to Oriental subjects. His "Geschichte der schönen Redekünste Persiens" (Vienna, 1818), based on Daulatshah's "Taz-kirat-ushu'ara", a sort of history of Persian poetry although now wholly antiquated, had great influence on German poetry. Goethe and Rückert made liberal use of it. Hammer also wrote a history of Turkish poetry, "Geschichte der osmanischen Diehtkunst" (Pest, 1836-3S, 4 vols.), and one of Arabic literature, "Literaturgeschichte der Araber" (Vienna, 1850-56, 7 vols), which today has little more than historic value. His original poems, based mostly on Oriental models, are devoid of literary merit.
SOURCE: SCHLOTTMAN, Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall (Zurich, 1857); AHLWARDT, Chalef Elahmars Quasside, nebst Wurdigung Joseph von Hammer als Arabistan (Greifswald, 1859).
See also GOETHE, Westosliche Divan, notes.
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